Opinion

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Written by: Melissa Fulton

Published: 07 December 2010

On Wednesday, Dec. 1, the first in a series of town hall meetings was held at Lakeport City Hall. The purpose of the meetings is to introduce residents and business owners in Lakeport to the workings of city government.

This first meeting was hosted by the Lakeport Police Department with Sgt. Jason Ferguson leading the first half of the presentation.

Sgt. Ferguson introduced, via www.cityoflakeport.com, the officers who serve the community. I did not take time during the meeting to add up all the years of experience of these officers, but it is very impressive. Those years are comprised of many with the city of Lakeport and other agencies.

The second half of this very interesting meeting was a presentation by Officer Stephanie Green, the school resource officer.

Officer Green is on campus for all three schools in Lakeport and has developed a very good rapport with many of the students.

It was amazing to hear the many things she is involved in on a day-to-day basis. Parents of children in these schools can count themselves very fortunate that this school/law enforcement partnership exists.

Unfortunately, some children do not have healthy and supportive home environments for a variety of reasons. Officer Green and the school faculty may be the only “helping hand” and “friendly ear” for some of these children.

If more residents and business owners in Lakeport had been able to attend, they would have learned of access via the Web site on crime that occurs in Lakeport – not just that a crime has occurred, but what kind of crime and the address where it took place. The city will soon be publishing a quarterly newsletter.

Due to questions from those of us in the audience, the planned hour long meeting extended to 90 minutes, well worth the time!

The next town hall meeting will be in February at City Hall, date to be announced soon. You can check the Lake County Chamber Web site at www.lakecochamber.com or www.cityoflakeport.com for the date in a couple of weeks.

In February, Lakeport Police Det. Lou Riccardi will be speaking about the Barbara LaForge murder case.

Melissa Fulton is chief executive officer of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce. She lives in Lakeport, Calif.

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Written by: Bev Owen

Published: 02 December 2010

As the director of First Baptist Church Sharing Closet at Pearl and Mullen streets in Clearlake, I have had the happy opportunity of assisting our community members who have not had heat in their homes, who are homeless, and those who many times have had to choose between a loaf of bread or a coat for their child, as I too experienced after leaving a violent home some years ago,

 

One man we helped cried, after he had walked in the rain to us wearing a thin jacket that was soaking wet, when he found a new leather jacket for himself. All that we give is at no cost.

 

Because Clearlake is a giving and caring community, we continue to receive donations of clothing for all ages, blankets, other clothing and household items, and stuffed animals for the children. What a wonderful blessing in my life to be a part of what is happening in Clearlake! Thanking everyone for your help for those among us who are experiencing poverty and hunger as well as experiencing homelessness as my sweet children and I did.

 

It means everything to me to help the little children – to see them leave smiling. Please feel free to leave your donations at church – we especially need more stuffed animals for Christmas!

 

Bev Owen lives in Clearlake, Calif.

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Written by: Jim Tanner

Published: 01 December 2010

Sometimes the stories we tell ourselves have a way of misleading us. One belief is that heavy consumption of holiday turkey results in drowsiness, attributed to high levels of tryptophan contained in the meat.

What's probably making you sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner is any combination of alcohol, relatives retelling the same old tales as if they were sagas, and a carbohydrate-heavy meal, but not the turkey itself. Another possible contributing factor is carbon monoxide (CO) exposure.

Thanksgiving is the start of the holiday and heating season in Lake County. We fill our houses, cabins and modular homes with relatives and friends, and then fire up our oven and stove.

Perhaps the wood burning fireplace insert and older furnace are blazing at opposite ends of the house. After a long drive, one of your guests is refreshing themselves in the shower that is fed by a propane water heater. If they are running, the bathroom and kitchen fans plus the clothes dryer are also exhausting air from the living space.

All of these combustion appliances and fans are competing with your guests for available oxygen. This situation is the perfect storm that can result in back drafting of combustion fumes into the living space instead of going up the flue. Only a few of the above mentioned combustion conditions are needed for back drafting to occur.

These appliances burn fuels, typically gas, both natural and liquefied petroleum, kerosene and wood. Under certain conditions, these appliances can produce deadly CO. However, with proper installation and maintenance, they are safe to use.

CO is a colorless, odorless gas produced by burning any fuel without enough oxygen. The initial symptoms of CO poisoning are similar to flu, and include drowsiness, headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea and dizziness.

Building scientists have thousands of anecdotal examples of people getting “sick” when exposed to low levels of CO; frequently, “the flu” is falsely blamed. Exposure to high levels of CO can cause death.

“Each year, CO poisoning associated with using fuel-burning appliances kills about 200 people,” said Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Ann Brown.

An annual inspection and service is the first line of defense against this silent killer. Having a CO alarm is another simple and effective precaution.

A timely suggestion for the holidays: Yes, it makes clean up easier, but covering the bottom of ovens with aluminum foil is dangerous. Doing so blocks the combustion air flow through the appliance and can produce more CO. So forget the foil and bring out the scrubbies after your guests depart.

“The secret of energy efficiency is that there is no silver bullet; but there are a thousand silver bb’s.”

Jim Tanner is a Cobb resident who is always interested in learning about new and old silver bb’s for finding shelter and comfort from the elements.